Oikage week
by Hazaazel
Summary: 9 one-shots revolving around Oikage, written for the Oikage week (detailed prompts inside). Or, 9 different ways Kageyama and Oikawa would (maybe) manage to fall in love.
1. Trust

As promised to Nuity, I started cross-posting my fanfics from archive of our own (my pseudo there is Hazazel). This was written for the april 2015 Oikage week, I'll just post everything into one 9 chaptered fic here. I hope you enjoy !

Prompts were : Orange lily : desire, passion, hatred (negative) / Lily of the Valley : trust

* * *

"So, we've lost."

Oikawa's voice was not nearly as cheerful as it used to be, it was so filled with hatred – towards himself, Shiratorizawa, everyone – that Kageyama could only stare with a blank face at such an unusual display of emotion. Oikawa seemed to notice and the eternal arrogance smothered his rage under a teeth-showing grin.

"You took the finale from us, then you lost. You're not even here to apologize."

Oikawa tsk-ed, head cocked to the side, smile even broader.

"Tobio-chan, I just told you I suffered a great loss, and you're being so rude !"

"Shut up, Oikawa-san."

They went silent, both staring at the wild expanse of dirt at their feet. Oikawa had come to see him, at his own house – how had he even found his address ? So far, all they had exchanged was those four sentences and a few glances, quickly averting their eyes as soon as they were noticed staring. Kageyama still had his sports uniform on from practice, and his volleyball in his bag.

He may not have another chance.

"Oikawa-san, teach me how t-"

He was stopped by a sharp, cold retort.

"Iwa-chan's not here to hold me back if you ask this of me again."

It did a pretty good job at silencing Kageyama. They went on sitting quietly for a few minutes, but eventually he got up and grabbed his bag.

"Leaving so soon ?"

Kageyama only shrugged. What his former captain – not that he ever was good at being one – wanted had nothing to do with him. _What a shame._

"You did threaten to hit me."

Kageyama might have done too much of a good job at making his voice perfectly blank, so he hid his eyes behind his hair to avoid the large, fake smile Oikawa sent his way.

"So, see you on the court, King."

With an annoyed grumble, he walked past Oikawa, shoulders slightly hunched.

* * *

 _As if he were afraid I'd hurt him._

Kageyama had the same look of helpless resignation he had three years ago in that field, the same he had six years ago in middle school, and it made Oikawa cringe internally. He wouldn't have done it, with or without Hajime to hold him back. He was not about to hurt anyone due to mere anger. But Kageyama still was right. He knew, even back in middle school, that his jealousy was petty and pointless, and jealousy also hurt. If he were being honest with himself, it hadn't mattered then, nor did it matter when they played against each other two years later. And he was here to make sure it would never matter anymore.

"So, you lost again..?"

The hand playing with his hair stopped.

"I did not _lose,_ I came here to talk."

A pause.

"I don't play volleyball anymore."

He would have enjoyed the blue eyes widening comically a lot more, if they hadn't been filled with intense horror. Oikawa resumed the movement of his hand, trying to catch his breath unnoticed. He had ran to arrive at Kageyama's house on time, crossing his fingers for Shrimpy-chan not to be here on this last day before the holidays.

"Oikawa-san... You... You can't just _stop_ ! It's _volleyball_ !"

He was giving him _the look_. The naive one. Emotions displayed freely on his face, his eyes trailing up Oikawa's legs, stopping at the knee. At the very visible knee cap.

"You train too much."

It was not Iwaizumi's annoying complaint, but a mournful, soft tone, one he understood. Even if Kageyama had already won, he still seemed to see him as a valuable opponent. The first. His enemy and his model.

He must really have ran too much, and his smile cracked as his legs gave up under him, the useless Grand King collapsed on the ground at the feet of a new one. Oh yes, jealousy still mattered, so thick it was almost blinding. Even the way Kageyama looked at him with concern – and this admiration, it couldn't seem to go away – right now it all felt _rotten_ . Kageyama was in his bloody uniform again, standing up and suddenly he felt the need to make something, _anything,_ to keep the admiration in those eyes alive.

"Get your volleyball."

Kageyama's look definitely was comical, but he still obeyed and fetched it from his bag.

"I'll teach you how to jump serve."

Fascinated, he watched as Kageyama's face went from wonder to despair, settling on a distressed expression. He supposed that most of this indecisiveness was caused by fear.

Or mistrust.

"Why ?"

'So you will still look up to me' obviously was not the right answer.

"Don't you trust me, Tobio-chan ?"

"No."

Well, that was harsh. How was he supposed to be nice with Kageyama being such a pain ? "You're 21 and you're still a pain", Iwaizumi always said. "Stop being such a child." Well, wasn't it a sign that he had grown up, teaching his best opponent his signature serve ?

"Change your mind, then."

His smooth answer made the smirk come back full force. Surely Kageyama would not miss that chance after pestering him for so long.

"No."

 _Fear._

Kageyama had learned so much duing his three years at Karasuno, he had moved on. And yet, because Oikawa had not, _how would he without volleyball_ , he could not trust him. He still flinched at every sudden move. He still had his shoulders hunched.

"Ok. At least, jump serve for me."

He had known what his serve looked like, while they both played. It was much harder now to get footage of the matches, and he missed that. Kageyama used to hit the ball too soon, not trusting enough to wait for the highest point in fear he might miss it.

"You needed to hit the ball later, in high school. If you hit it too soon, it loses power. Trust your jump a little more !"

"Trust ?" Kageyama gave the word a strange sound, almost foreign, undesired.

"Yeah, trust. That's what you were lacking, right ? Though I reckon Shrimpy-chan made quite a good job on that. Hey, he trusted you so completely he closed his-"

"Don't talk about Hinata."

Oikawa just smiled, and moved closer.

"Calm down, Kageyama. If you don't want to serve, maybe we can start team-building exercises ?"

"No."

"But-"

Kageyama walked away, his ball in his hands, not sparing a glance at Oikawa.

[ _Unknown number, 10:15pm_ ] Oi. Why did you take my bag.

[ _Oikawa-san, 10:20pm_ ] What did you do to have Iwa-chan give you my number ?

[ _Tobio, 10:22pm_ ] I asked. Do you still have it ?

[ _Oikawa-san, 10:20pm_ ] Nice dinosaur socks.

[ _Tobio, 10:22pm_ ] Don't look ! I want it back. Tomorrow at 10.

[ _Oikawa-san, 11:06pm_ ] I'll be there.

* * *

There was a knock on the door but Kageyama did not bother answering. It was not for him – Oikawa would not be there before quarter past ten, if he was lucky – so he started a little when the door of his room was shut loudly.

"Still not dressed, Tobio-chan ?"

Of course it would be Oikawa. Surprising him by not being late as usual and coming into his room instead of waiting outside for a bit.

And, he was actually not fully dressed. He had a T-shirt on, but could not decide which trousers to wear – the volleyball one, and running the risk of being asked to play, or the normal one, and not being ready to play when Oikawa was gone.

"Well well, Tobio, drop the volleyball stuff. We're not playing today."

He dropped the bag on the ground and threw him the pair of jeans.

"Holidays ! Let's have fun !"

Oikawa wanting fun sounded like doom, unavoidable and scary. And painful. These thought must have shown on his face because Oikawa patted his head reassuringly.

"Don't worry, we're not going to the movies. We'll just hang out and have ice cream."

Doom, it was definitely doom.

* * *

Tobio was leaning on him – _willingly._ Eyes closed, limbs relaxed, nose buried deep in Oikawa's neck. An arrogant smirk stretched his lips as Tobio sighed a little and sunk deeper into his hair.

"You're smirking, Shittykawa."

Whining, he pinched the pale – and bare – sides of... He didn't know yet how to call it. Trust was not something Kageyama Tobio easily gave and it had taken weeks for Oikawa to take him to dinner. Months to call those dates. A year to wrench those four words from kiss-swollen lips - "I love you". Another to move to Oikawa's better furnished apartment in Tokyo. Still, he could feel Tobio's shoulders clench when he kissed him unexpectedly, and he so rarely cuddled. 'Trustful' definitely was not Oikawa's first word to describe Kageyama Tobio. Iwaizumi always said it was a wonder Oikawa held on for something this long – Tobio had asked, once, their whole bodies pressed flushed against each other, legs tangled, "Why are you here, how comes you're still with me ?"

Sure, envy, _jealousy_ were the first sparks of his interest. Sure, he had never really been gentle, still wasn't. Remembering Tobio's tears when he told him about the match, his smile after he and Hinata won the university championship, his sighs and moans and the smell of coffee the morning after – those were the reasons. You could trust Tobio to hold on when it came to volleyball. Oikawa was the one to care for the rest.

Tobio's jump serve had never been better.


	2. Shiny armour

Written for the Oikage week, day two : Heather - purple (Admiration), pink (Good luck)

When I read the word "admiration", I got the idea of knights. I've always been impressed by the idea of knights walking in and out of the city like they were off to save the world, so I decided to put Oikawa in a shiny armor and see how it turned out. I hope you like the result !

* * *

His horse stomped on the ground, eager to move forth, but Tooru was _struck._ Holding the bridle with a hand, he caught the necklace a child had just thrown him with the other. The boy, under his unusually long hair, had the bluest eyes he had ever seen, and they were shining bright, as bright as the stone on the end of the necklace.

"Hey, you ! Get back here !"

Shooting him a last desperate glance, the boy ran away, his bag jerking left and right.

"Oi, move, you idiot !"

Iwaizumi was gesturing him to keep walking, and had the boy not been out of sight he probably would have stopped the whole procession to try and take another look at him. Knights were not often in town these days, and people always happily threw flowers at him – it was the first time someone threw _jewelry_ at him.

oo

"Can you believe it Iwa-chan ? A random citizen. He got me a necklace."

"He _stole_ you a necklace. You didn't even pay the merchant back."

"We _did_ free his town from a pack of wolves."

"They did pay us money to do so."

"You're being picky..."

"You're being arrogant."

"When am I not ?"

True enough, and it made the both of them fall silent again.

oo

They were going on a raid, this time, against the nearby castle. Lots of women, men, children, all assembled to see the brave knights wave their armour-clad arm before disappearing down the hills. Iwaizumi was walking beside him, gripping his bridle loosely, grumbling about "silly people that had better been off to work than watching poorly dressed men go away to steal some gold".

A shiny bouquet of pink heather hit him in the face, and Tooru raised his eyes to see a very young-looking redhead holding a very flustered boy in place. They waved goodbye, and he felt the blue eyes following him until he walked past the iron gate.

oo

They were ten men less when they came back, bloodied and injured, but with a wain full of gold. There were still cheers, sharp and loud, and more flowers. But the young boy had eyes widened in disgust, his face pale, and he turned on his heels too quickly to be followed like Tooru had wanted to.

oo

"Wait !"

This time, he was determined to talk to the boy before he went away for weeks, he had even left his horse to Iwaizumi to get closer to the border of the street.

"Don't run away like this every time !"

"I..."

"The bouquet, last month, what was that for ?"

"Ah... I picked the flowers in the field behind the city... Pink heathers are for good luck."

His tone was bittersweet, like a ruined memory.

"Well, thank you !"

Instead of blushing as the girls he complimented would, the boy frowned and talked again.

"I... I think what you do is not good. It brings hope to the people of this city but it is not what rightful looks like." He pointed at his halberd. "I thought you had a shiny armour because you were the good ones but..."

Telling what he had in mind clearly was not something the boy was used to, but this was easy to understand. Tooru patted his head, and went back to the cortege.

oo

The boy was here again. His eyes were not shining like the first day Tooru saw him, they were ice cold and glaring at him.

"Wasn't he the guy that threw you a necklace ?" Iwaizumi asked.

"I guess he changed his mind."

* * *

I wrote this in a rush, because I didn't like how the first OS ended up, which means I have tons of headcanons for this AU !

\- Kageyama and Hinata are in a thief gang called the Crows, they have been in Karasuno city for a while now, but no one can catch them because they run too fast.

\- Oikawa named his horse Iwa and Iwaizumi is so pissed off he refuses to even get close to it (Oikawa had to promise he would stop talking for the whole journey to make Iwaizumi hold the bridle, he obviously could not and spent the day singing that "Iwa and Iwa were the best friends ever")

\- Hinata noticed Kageyama liked the knight but he was also the first one to know about the massacre in the other city, where Kageyama's mother lives.


	3. Rose Bouquet

Aaah I'm sorry I'm updating like a snail. I'm really bad as crossposting stuff, too... The prompt was rose, and tehre are just so many types of roses ! Plus, since the theme was flowers, the idea of a flower shop AU came straight into my mind and I could not shake it off.

This OS was beta-ed by the super nice Shawty !

Here are the roses I used for this story (yes, I meant the "so many types", I really had fun) :  
Yellow – Jealousy, extreme betrayal  
Black – Hatred  
Pink – Grace  
Burgundy – Unconscious beauty  
Red – True love  
White – Silence  
Red and white together – United  
Thornless – Love at first sight

* * *

"Welcome to the Aobajousai flower shop ! What can I do for you ?"

Oikawa had his bright commercial smile on his face but the customer did not seem phased, looking straight at Tobio and speaking in a very serious tone.

"Hi, I saw you making the bouquet through the shop front and... It's very pretty. Is it for sale ?"

Compliments were unusual, people more or less couldn't tell one flower from another when they were not roses – not that Tobio was complaining, it gave him work – but this one, eyes gleaming and _so_ determined, seemed to know what he was talking about. Tobio looked down at the flowers on the table, and must have frowned, because Oikawa started talking again. About flowers, probably, since the other man was not making faces.

"Who is it for ?" Tobio eventually asked, when the man, ruffling his _orange_ hair, stared at the bouquet.

"My wife," and he darkened - Tobio began to frown again. Was she dead ?

"Oh, no, don't look so upset ! She's not dead !"

Not dead _yet_ , his voice said, but Tobio let it go and added a few darker flowers to the bouquet, desperately trying not to show it was meant to be a wreath – it would not be, not anymore, you do _not_ offer sick people a funerary ornament. Even _he_ knew this.

The man paid for his flowers and jumped out, barely waving at Oikawa. Who was usually the main reason people came to their lousy flower shop in the first place.

"Well well, an interesting customer !"

Oikawa never really stopped talking, and no matter how annoying it got, Tobio had no other choice but to listen. Internship was sometimes... painful, but not as a sports practice coul be. Less satisfying.

"He never came before, I'm sure I would have remembered the minuscule height."

And his hair. And his smile. And the energy that seemed to be radiating from him like steady beams of light.

"Tobio-chan, I think he played volleyball at school too. His hands are callused like ours."

He hummed, not liking where this was going. Because they had both played volley together in middle school and high school, Oikawa seemed to think he would _love_ being told again and again about how great it was. A reminder as painful for him as it was for Oikawa, one that he insisted on doing anyway.

"Hm... I may remember a match... D'you think we played against his team ? Because I don't think so."

"It means we haven't. You know all your matches by heart, re-watching them over and over." Tobio stopped wringing stems together to add a "freak."

"Shut up, _King."_

Oikawa knew this was the worst thing to say, and even his usual cheerfulness could not make up for the atmosphere that settled around Tobio like someone had drenched him in cold water. So Oikawa just watched his hands twisting and picking and adding flowers. As he always did.

oo

"Hello, Kageyama !"

"Hinata, you're here early."

"Huh, am I ? I only left work ten minutes ago ! I didn't think I ran that fast anymore !"

Sunshine couldn't be as bright as Hinata if it tried, and it had been trying very hard since the man last visited. He had come a lot in the past three weeks, each time buying one of my bouquets for his wife - "She loves flowers, she says yours are the best !" - and while it gave them much needed money, Tobio could not understand this unending interest Hinata had in him. They had barely talked, but Hinata seemed to understand his mood better that Oikawa. Which was saying something, since he was the cause of most of it.

"Say, Kageyama, is this flower shop a good one ?"

Oikawa was not even pretending not to listen, sitting down to hear his answer better.

"I'm just an intern here, getting used to the job. But there aren't many flower shops around, so I'll end up staying here whether I want to or not, I guess."

"And... Say... What if I offered you the possibility to leave for a better- ah, sorry, Oikawa, a bigger flower shop ?"

Hinata got a black and orange card out of his wallet.

"Karasuno flower shop. It's run by a former senpai from the volleyball club, and he liked the wreath you made for my wife the other day, said that they had a place, after one of their employees left for uni. Would you be interested ?"

Oh.

"Well of course he is."

The yellow rose in Tobio's hands was crumpled in surprise – not that he particularly liked roses, but this one was a really pretty flower.

"He's very interested."

What was Oikawa doing ?

"Really ? Whaaa ! That's so great !"

Hinata jumped up and down, bouncing around in the shop. _Spiker_ , Oikawa had said, this man _had_ played volleyball.

"Of course you'd have to talk to Koushi first – ah, no, I mean, Sugawara – but I'm sure they'll take you in !"

Oikawa probably listened to what Hinata was saying next, because Tobio did not hear him leave, nor did he hear Oikawa closing the shop.

"Meeting's tomorrow at ten. Looks like you'll be gone in no time. Good job with your internship, useful stuff, after all."

Yeah. Probably. Maybe.

oo

"...Oikawa !"

Three months, it had been _three months_ since Tobio had last seen him, on the day he walked him to Karasuno Flower shop. Oikawa had smiled broadly, told him to enjoy himself – he was going to work in a flower shop, not play volleyball again, no need to be this happy, but then Oikawa turned to the manager and said "I heard you ran the neighbourhood team, Sawamura. Well, Tobio used to play, I hope he can make it in." And then he had left.

He did not look as good. Oikawa had never been anything other than thin and muscled, but now he looked skinny, dark shadows under his eyes, not even walking in with his annoying " _Tobio-chan_ ". Everyone here called him Kageyama and it felt nice, but still a bit odd.

"Make me something. I wanna see your hands move." Hands. Oikawa had great hands, long fingers, so thin Tobio was always scared they would break when they hit the ball – "Teach me how to serve, Oikawa-san". Tobio probably served better than him, now, since he hadn't practiced since the end of high school, when his knee got worse. He had played until the end of university, and now had extra weeks of training. "You do the best bouquets anyway."

Bitterness, hot and thick and so strong. Looking around until he found it, Tobio picked a black rose and began a new wreath. Oikawa's eyes did not leave his hands, and surprisingly, he looked less grim leaving the shop with his funerary ornament than when he entered.

oo

"Oikawa ? It's only been a week."

"Tobioooo, at least pretend you like to see me !"

It was not that. After Oikawa stopped playing – after he did too, tired of always being on his own – Tobio noticed that even when he was not playing, being with Oikawa did not bother him as much as it used to. It was just weird, having him come back so soon after such a long absence.

"Make me something again !"

Oh, that was it, then, Oikawa wanted to see him make bouquets.

"Come on, Tobio-chan, don't frown ! I'll even pay, see !"

Oikawa's hands, so very _pale_ without the red edge that took hours to pass after training sessions, trailing through his hair, through the flowers scattered around. So slender and yet not lacking... not lacking grace. Like birds or volleyballs. Pink roses, for the center of the bouquet.

oo

"Oikawa !"

"Tobio, stop saying my name like it's a proper greeting, and actually say 'hello' for once !"

Tanaka snickered very loudly. Oikawa stuck his tongue out at him.

"What do you want this time," Tobio muttered, and Oikawa smiled, bright and clear in a way even Hinata's smiles were not.

"I want a flower crown !"

They could hear Tanaka's laughter from the other side of the shop.

"Don't pull pranks on me when I'm working. What do you really want ?"

"I just told you, idiot. I'm dressed like crap today and I need something to raise my... my _levels."_

Sighing, Tobio gathered the last burgundy roses and started to twist them into the basic shape of the crown. As if Oikawa needed _leveling up_. He was gorgeous and he knew it. He looked so much better, though, with the dark red of the roses on his hair.

"Funny, you never used roses before coming here..." he commented.

No, Tobio didn't. They had so many petals, and thorns too, and they looked like Oikawa – he whined when his hand caught on a thorn, but seemed to realise something and stared at his bleeding finger in amazement.

oo

"Oikawa, you've been coming every single day for the past three days. What the hell is happening ?"

 _Oikawa, you've left for three months, then a week, then two days, now you come here almost as often as Hinata, Iwho has most of his friends working here, I don't really understand._

"To-biooo-chan ! Stop frowning and make me a bouquet !"

Deep breath, in and out, to calm down like before a volleyball match. Oikawa's voice wass still as annoying but the way he drawled the "o" felt pleasantly familiar, whining undertones like a small child, playful smirk like a predator's. Demanding and silly. Red and white, red and white, red and white, the bouquet was just a puddle of petals at this point – roses were almost _fluffy_ at this time of the year. Oikawa's eyes couldn't seem to leave his hands.

"Tell me, Tobio-chan, do you know anything about the language of flowers ?"

What a useless question. Of course he did. Oikawa taught him, the very first thing he ever taught him, the only thing. Because it was not volleyball, because he could do it with his knee cap on. Because Tobio was so obviously better than him at matching the colours together it did not matter if he was a better florist – Oikawa never stood a chance.

"Red and white roses," Oikawa sighed.

When he understood there was no way Tobio was willingly going to look at him while he explained flower language _again_ , Oikawa nudged his chin up, the calluses on his fingers brushing against the skin – so familiar, everything about him was _home_. Their eyes met and Oikawa smirked and everything froze as they got closer.

"Be more discreet, Tobio. That's no way to hide a crush."

"You're the one talking."

"I'm the one kissing. I can, right ?"

Tobio nodded and Oikawa leaned in, and the world felt right.


	4. Spiral down

I really like uni!AU, because aged-up characters, team splitting drama, dorms (those sound horrible and great at the same time). Also, trigger warning for anxiety attacks and something that kinda looks like depression ? I don't want to say it is because I'm probably not writing it accurately and it's not very detailed, too, so... That's it.

Prompt was : Snowdrop - consolation

* * *

"Good luck Tobio !"

After three years and thousands of hours together, Hinata had finally said his first name, as a goodbye gift. He was not leaving, going to the local university with Yamaguchi and some others. "The volleyball court there is amazing ! There were lights everywhere and the ball was going whoosh and whaaa !" He refrained from saying that Karasuno had the same gym, only a bit smaller, Hinata seemed genuinely excited about this. Tobio was leaving for Tokyo, his university too had a volleyball club, but he hadn't been able to visit.

Neither the use of his name, nor the warm "Don't forget to come back often, Bakayama!" had managed to ease the tension in his shoulders. He had learned so much at Karasuno, team spirit and friendship, Hinata always hopping along with little squeals. He was going to lose all this and loneliness was a feeling he hated deeply , so he shut it down in a corner of his brain and took his seat on the train, closing his eyes not to see the landscape of Miyagi vanish past him.

oo

Tap. Tap. _Taptaptapppp._ The sound of a ball falling to the ground, ignored, echoing through his memory to drill holes in his brain. There was laughter too, pats on his back, "Relax Kageyama !", but this was not fresher initiation, it was his heart pumping quicker than ever and his breathing coming so fast black dots danced in front of his eyes, taunting him. His teeth were chattering. The next pat sent him to the ground.

oo

He had followed Hinata's advice but now that he was standing in front of the university door, he was starting to wonder if it really was the right thing to do. They did not have a volleyball club here. _It's not like you had the choice_ , whispered the voice in his head, _trying to find a new uni like this a month after semesters started, with the horrible grades you have.._. If Tobio was being honest with himself, playing volleyball without his team – even Tsukishima – was not worth the ordeal of being _alone_ again. Sighing, he picked up his bag and entered the building, only to collide with someone straight on.

"Watch where you're going !"

"Sorry," he answered, with every intention of walking away, his eyes still glued to the ground.

An arm gripped his. A bully, on his first day ? _How lucky._

"Tobio."

"...Oikawa-san ?!"

"Long time no see."

Yes, he guessed, after two years of nothingness, you could say that.

"Sorry," Tobio repeated, "I'm in a hurry."

"Aah, don't worry ! Let's eat lunch together. See you here in two hours, Tobio-chan."

Tobio did not agree to this before walking away.

oo

"You actually came !"

He hadn't meant to, but he had forgotten his lunch and the entry door was on the way to the cafeteria. His feeble groan seemed to be enough of a consent for Oikawa to delightedly drag him to an empty table and sit in front of him.

"Sooo, what are you doing here ?" seeing his puzzled look, Oikawa added "No volley club here, you must know that."

"I could ask the same question."

"I play in a club down the road, they don't take new members this time of year, though."

"The uni I went to had a... a bad team."

Oikawa sent him a puzzled look.

"Like me, but... before."

Before Karasuno. Before he learned what 'team' meant. Before Hinata, and before the others. It was too painful to even remember and it made his throat tighten. He left the table with the vague idea of avoiding further encounters.

oo

Oikawa was _everywhere._ Near the front doors, in the corridors, next to his library seat, greeting him with a large smile and a "Tobio-chan, what a surprise !", _always_ there.

"What do you want."

"Come on, we're just politely eating lunch..."

"What do you want."

"I saw you practice in the park yesterday evening."

He glared. Oikawa could practice indoors and with a team, was he here to boast ? If Tobio said nothing, if he kept quiet, maybe Oikawa would drop the topic. Leave him in peace.

"You won't be improving much playing all by yourself like that."

There was no need to rub salt in the wound. He knew he was fooling no one, he knew he had already lost half of his speed – Hinata had been wrong, the lack of volleyball left a hole in his life that could not be filled with studying, or his stupid, stubborn ball throwing. It was not enough.

"What, do you want to practice with me ?"

"Thought you'd never ask ! See you tonight, Tobio !"

He almost regretted the words when Oikawa grinned wickedly, but could not help the sigh of relief when he realized that meant not being alone, for one night at least.

oo

"I've been waiting for an hour ! All of the third years are gone, what the hell were you doing ?!"

"I'm not a... Never mind. Let's go, we only have an hour before it closes."

Their throw-toss made Tobio question the usefulness of a team of two. Sure, Hinata and him were a pair, but alone, they were nothing. They could not win a match. There were no matches now, only their serves and tosses, to save him from the spiraling anxiety of a day without the ball hitting his hands. He remained silent when they paused but it was because he knew Oikawa would go away if he were too annoying. He couldn't stand that right now.

oo

Oikawa invited him to his match and he said no, but still went. His team won, and, from the bleachers, Tobio watched him shouting encouragements to his teammates, tossing and jumping and serving.

[From: Oikawa, 9:12 pm] _Wait, so did you come or not ?_

[From: Oikawa, 9:13 pm] _I thought I saw you in the bleachers but you were gone._

[From: Tobio-chan, 9:20 pm] _I left early._

[From: Oikawa, 9:21 pm] _Well, it doesn't matter. Practice tomorrow ?_

[From: Tobio-chan, 9:23 pm] _There is no uni tomorrow._

[From: Oikawa, 9:23 pm] _Are you actually saying 'no' to practice ?_

[From: Oikawa, 9:40 pm] _Whatever. See you on Tuesday._

oo

Hinata called twice a week, at least, and it was the only thing keeping Tobio sane now, without volleyball. He avoided Oikawa like the plague, at school and after, training alone in the little courtyard behind his building. Days and days of staying late, tossing on a wall.

Hinata came over after two months, and they spent a blissful weekend playing together, practising their quick until their palms reddened with effort and Hinata called out – he did not. He may not have many other chances like this in the future, so _hell_ if he wasn't going to enjoy it while it lasted.

Three more weeks and he still managed to escape every time he saw Oikawa's pointy head in the corridors. He had stopped practicing every day, focusing on his studies instead, exams were approaching. His marks were correct, for once - funny, the amount of time no practice for a week could spare.

oo

Who was he kidding ? Not his mother, always asking whether he would come back or not for the upcoming holidays. Certainly not Hinata, his voice had become increasingly worried over the last phone calls. Yet Tobio couldn't bring himself to care, days slowly lulling by in a blurry motion. Lessons, eating, sleeping.

Don't think about volleyball.

A daily routine, calm and quiet, that Tobio followed dutifully. Except for the volleyball part – not practicing gave him way too much free time. The sounds of volleyballs falling on the ground, the familiar shape in his hands, the smell of Air Salonpas, seemed to follow his every move, filling his head with mindless flashes of his last three years. Training. Victory. Hinata. The team. Volleyball.

 _Knock knock._

Tobio did not understand what that was at first, no one ever knocked. When he came, Hinata had rang the bell so hard the neighbours came out to see who it was.

 _KNOCK KNOCK._

Maybe he should get up and open the door.

"Oi ! Tobio-chan, open the door !"

"What the hell ! Who's – Oikawa-san ?"

"Well, yeah ! First you miss practice, then you avoid me for _weeks_ , and now you stop coming to school ?"

First, it was not practice, it was _mockery_ , then, if it wasn't even volleyball, no one could blame him for leaving. He had only missed school for a day and a half, and was planning to return the day after. He was just so tired. He just needed _rest_.

"Tobio, let me in !"

"No way."

He was pushed to the side as Oikawa entered the house, taking in the messy couch and the dishes still on the coffee table.

"You need to get out of here sometimes. Take a bath, we're going out."

Tobio stood still, looking at the pointy hair and the silly smile and the brown eyes.

"What, do I have something on my face ?"

"Oikawa-san. I want to play volleyball."

He had said it aloud. Of course, they both knew – Oikawa had known he regretted losing volleyball, Hinata had known and told him it maybe was better than being alone, he himself had believed this crap and now that Tobio had finally admitted it aloud it felt like a broken dam.

"Oikawa-san. I miss volleyball. I miss it so bad."

"I know, Tobio."

No, he didn't, he still had volleyball and even if his team was only a local one, never going to actual championships outside of the neighbourhood, even if the players were nowhere near his own level, he _played_. He had a team.

Oikawa was walking around in the room, folding his clothes into a neat pile, cleaning away the dirty mugs, while he stood there, shaking slightly.

"There you go, sit on your couch."

"Don't order me around."

"Are you feeling better now ?"

Tobio would rather obey silently, sitting with his hands folded on his lap. He felt drained, exhausted, just wished for Oikawa to leave – what was he doing here anyway.

"Hinata gave me your address."

Oh. Hinata. They hadn't talked in a while. Fear of his voice breaking, disgust of himself for not practicing anymore. Envy, because Hinata still played with part of the team. Shame. He could handle this on his own, he could shut down his phone or ignore the endless loops of ringing until they stopped. Oikawa had nothing to do with this. Tobio did not need to have him here, he was doing perfectly fine avoiding him and his silly head.

oo

Avoiding Oikawa's silly head became very difficult after he moved in - "Tobio-chan ! Hinata approved, you can't stop me". Since when could Hinata decide about this ? Bit by bit, Oikawa had moved his stuff in Tobio's living room, sleeping on the couch and drinking all his milk. He always insisted on watching TV when they came back from class, but could never settle on a channel, zapping effortlessly and not watching anything at all. He went out to practice with a guilty grin, and stayed so late Tobio had stopped waiting for him.

There were good sides. They ran together in the morning. They baked milk bread. They went to the movies. Oikawa liked to cuddle. Maybe he liked cuddling too.

Hinata still called twice a week, he still didn't answer.

"Not now, Oikawa."

"And when is this 'now', exactly ?"

Tobio didn't know.

oo

"Fireworks ! Summer festival !"

Oikawa was way too excited about this, it couldn't bode well. He even had a flower crown, "the Grand King's crown !", and he stuck his tongue out when Tobio pointed out he was acting like an child.

"Haha, Tobio, you look even worse than me with that !"

'That' being his very own flower crown, and, apparently, crumbles of milk bread all over his chin.

It did not surprise him when they kissed, sparkles of colour showering above their heads, it felt alright to follow him home with their hands locked, and to fall asleep together.

oo

" _Hi, Hinata._ "

His throat felt impossibly small and he could hear the same tight tone on the other side of the phone.

" _Bakayama. 's been a while._ "

" _Yeah._ "

" _Oikawa told me you were ok, lately._ "

" _You're talking with him now ?!_ "

Hinata laughed and suddenly Tobio realised they were so close to tears it didn't matter they hadn't spoken for more than two months. They could still bicker about anything, anytime, and it was so reassuring Tobio wondered why he even stopped answering his phone in the first place.

" _Well, for a Grand King, he's not that bad._ "

" _I've stopped practicing._ "

" _I know._ "

" _I'm not... I'm not feeling that bad about about it anymore._ "

" _It's good._ "

He really meant it. They both did.

* * *

I hope you enjoyed !

Here is a bonus headcanon : Oikawa is not a third year, that's why he is an hour late. He started by studying law but did not like it, at all, and decided to re-do a first year in English and economy, so he's a second-year, and Kageyama thinks about teasing him but gives up when Oikawa makes him read a chapter from a law book. Kageyama took... I don't even know but it's not Biology. (can you feel how biaised I am when I'm picking their subjects ?)


	5. Act on a whim

**Carnation** : Purple – capriciousness, whimsical, changeable

This prompt for day 5 was just so Oikawa. He would totally change his mind five times a day about his outfit or some stupid stuff, piss Iwaizumi off so much he would just stick with one of the most ridiculous things Oikawa said and refuse to change. Of course, Oikawa enjoys this much more than him, so it's not very effective. (what do you mean I just made up this hc while writing the author's note ? Totally not. You can't prove anything)

* * *

Oikawa is his best friend, but he honestly can't understand what goes through his mind when he starts acting weird like this. They have volleyball practice in two hours. Oikawa knows this perfectly well, he's the one who scheduled it. And yet it's his third ice cream and he still wants a crepe after his milk can, he tells Hajime with a grin. Eating so much before practicing is not good, but he won't hear a thing – he _will_ have his third vanilla flavoured scoop and no one can stop him. While they train and stretch, he can see Oikawa stopping to hold his stomach, pain fluttering across his face, but when they're done he's jumping up and down and shouting that he wants another milk can on their way home. Hajime just shakes his head, knowing and hoping he will never understand.

OO

Kageyama is so weird. He has been training for hours, now, even though the move is just fine - "Fine is not perfect", he keeps repeating to Akira, but he doesn't understand why he should practice so much if he can do it good enough. It's tiring, it's stupid, and even a little bit creepy. No one should train with such a frown on their face, because it's just _volleyball,_ not the whole world. Though, volleyball is probably Kageyama's whole life, Akira thinks, that's why he's so focused. In spite of their biology test tomorrow. Akira sighs again, and goes back to reading his book – at least, _he_ will have a good mark, instead of stubbornly hitting a ball into the ground.

OO

He has such big eyes when he asks Oikawa that Hajime thinks Kageyama's question might be taken into consideration. Then, he sees the concentration on his best friend's usually laughing face and he knows it's way too late to intervene. Oikawa has decided that this first year is worthy of his interest and the little one is going to regret it. "No, I won't teach you how to jump serve", he says, just because the other asked, just because he doesn't want to. No matter how many times Hajime will hit him on the head, no matter how many times Kageyama will ask, Oikawa says "No" and stubbornly turns his head away.

oo

Oikawa has asked Kageyama to wait for him after practice and it cannot be good news, so Hajime waits for them in the locker – he knows eavesdropping is bad but he also guesses he won't be told everything afterward, so he better get his own information. Kageyama looks hopeful, he probably thinks he is going to be taught how to serve. Hajime is sure there is no way Oikawa suddenly decided to do so. Hajime is right, and it makes him feel bad for the smaller kid when he watches his face as he gets turned down for the millionth time. But then he feels bad for spying on them because Oikawa seizes Kageyama's face in his hands and kisses him on the lips. Kageyama's eyes shine so bright he can see them from here, blue jewels, and he blushes madly. When Oikawa moves aside, Hajime thinks he is smirking.

When he clenches his fists, Hajime knows he is angry.

When he runs away, Hajime understands he is terrified, and that he is the one that's going to deal with it.

OO

It seems that all the strength Kageyama used to practice is now devoted to destroying this little piece of wood he is holding and Akira cannot understand why. They are being benched because there is a match coming and the first-team players have to train more than the other ones. Since it's Monday, Oikawa is not here, and Kageyama usually uses this day to practice even more, but something must have changed his mind and he just sits with his fists in a ball, his nails digging in his palms. When the door bursts open and Oikawa enters, he doesn't greet him as he usually does – nothing seems usual today. Instead he runs away to the other side of the gym and starts serving. Akira thinks this one has bats in the belfry, so he goes back to watching the ongoing session of receives. Oikawa watches the wood fragments littering the ground where Kageyama sat funnily before waving at Iwaizumi.

OO

"I hate Tobio-chan" is all Oikawa said but it's enough for Hajime to know that he has fallen hard, very hard. He stays radio silent for the whole weekend and then bursts into the gym _on a Monday_ , to drag him out. After looking at Kageyama's chair for a good minute with a crestfallen expression. They sit in a cafe and Hajime has to remember that he is not supposed to know anything about their kiss, so he doesn't accidentally reveal he spied on them. Thankfully, Oikawa is straight to the point this time - "Ok, I may not hate Tobio that much. More like... _Like."_ \- and he eats less ice cream. They don't talk much, only spaced out remarks about how Kageyama seems disturbed now and whether or not he'd agree to kiss again. Hajime says no, and immediately regrets it, Oikawa is now ordering a three-scoops ice cream plate with whipped cream and chocolate sauce. "I'll be back to the way I normally act then", he decides against every plan they just made, "so he won't have to turn me down."

That's not a very good plan.

OO

Kageyama has been acting weirder and weirder lately. Akira knows he stopped pestering Oikawa to be taught how to jump serve and this is definitely not right – what could have possibly happened to make things change this much ? He practices even more now, though, and has started to drink milk. It's probably too late for his bones but who knows.

OO

This time he thinks Kageyama will not come, because Oikawa has ignored him for a week, but he still hides in the storage room in case someting happens. He freaks out when someone opens the door but he has time to hide from Kageyama. Maybe the boy is just scared senseless, maybe he knows Oikawa will talk even if he doesn't come and is here to listen and decide. Indeed, when he arrives, Oikawa just shakes his pointy hair at the empty gym and starts speaking softly. They can hear everything.

"Hey, Tobio-chan. You're not here, how surprising ! Well, I kind of acted weird lately. You know, I wondered if you'd like to kiss again. Cause I would, eh. Or maybe not. If I kissed you again you'd probably be the one to run away so I won't think about this again. You're not even here, how pathetic is this. Ah, you know what ? Actually I'm going to kiss you and then you'll be the one reacting. I won't..."

Hajime doesn't know what he was not about to do because Kageyama stupidly leaves the storage room and – what the hell, he actually kisses Oikawa on the lips with a shy fluttering movement, and then stares as they both try to catch their breath. Hajime knows he is being the worst but he can't help staring too.

oo

All his week has been filled to the brim with "I hate Tobio sooooo much, Iwa-chaaaaan" so it's not his fault if he stopped walking suddenly and just shouted "Ask him out you dumbass, he'll say yes and you'll stop bothering me !"

Now he is watching, in plain sight for once, as Oikawa paces up and down the little alley in the park he chose to meet with Kageyama – how cliche, Hajime told him, but he wouldn't listen.

Of course Kageyama says yes, even before Oikawa finishes his sentence, and now he is following a couple holding hands and picking up purple flowers. And he does not understand in the least how it came to this.

* * *

I hope you liked it ! (also, Kunimi uses ridiculous proverbs, but never aloud, that would be embarrassing, and nothing can convince me otherwise) (I have way too many hc oh gosh)


	6. Pride

Ok, I'm not going to lie : every chapter before this one (or the previous one ?) was severly edited, because those were written in April 2015 and now we're in January 2016 and I can't believe I improved this much ! So yay to me, and yay for you because you can read better fanfics. The following ones won't be edited as much because I was experimenting stuff (here, it's second person narrative), I was very satisfied with myself, and I still am actually. It might seem very pretentious to say this but hey, if wasn't at least a little bit confident in my progress I don't think I'd be posting anything at all ever. So, I hope you enjoy !

* * *

The first time your hand touches the ball, it bounces away with a loud noise, and you're so proud you managed to hit it – then you see the captain of your team serve, you see a setter toss, a spiker send the ball to the other side of the gym, and your smile vanishes as if it never existed. The player next to you seems to sense your mood shift, mistakes it for discomfort. It is not – you are not afraid even though the room is full of older people you don't know hitting balls loudly. It's shame, it's rage. They are better, oh so much better than you, but you will practice, you will beat them all no matter what .

It becomes a song, a chant, a prayer, that you keep repeating again and again. But 'better' is not getting closer, when you hit the ball, it barely makes it to the other side of the net and your palms yell in anger-red frustration. Your tosses are slow, the ball whizzing past your ears in what sounds like mocking whistles, and you're never on sync for spike – when your shoes hit the ground, they spell 'failure' under your toes. They're still all so nice to you, the other players, smiling, saying that first years seldom practice this hard. Obviously, it's not hard enough, if you still can't get it right.

First year is a blur, practice and practice, in the bright shame of the gym or the shadows of your garden - it never stops. Eventually, you improve, and the ball touching your hands kisses you in comfort. It feels so good you manage to get a hold of the gym's keys, to practice all by yourself. Iwaizumi shakes his head but ever since he tagged along, all these yers ago, he never really said a thing. All he does is stay in a corner while he watches you serve and serve and serve again, eventually offering you a white knee cap after that one night you fell so hard you couldn't get up on your own and limped for three days. "Why are you doing this anyway, you're better than most of us", he asks in disbelief. You want to shout that you won't stop before you are sitting at the top and all you can do is practice even harder not to be overthrown. You want to shout that you'rebetter now, better than you ever were and it makes you so proud to feel the ball matching the curve of your fingers like it was made to be there, purring a soft melody – but you're still out of breath, and all you can do is hide your panting with a stuck-out tongue and a finger to your eye.

oo

It's third year now and you are made captain of the team and nothing – except jump-serving right for the first time – has ever felt this good. You're over the top and it takes all your self control not to scream and dance and jump because you've made it ! But you have to stay quiet, because they're introducing the new club members and as the captain – yes, it's you ! you are ! - you have to listen to the rather short list of names. They all seem so little, so inexperienced. You promise yourself you will never look like this again, lost and unsettled. You remember how it feels, though, seeing all the players around you, so with a wolfish grin you grab a ball and ask them to do the basics. They all fail to serve, the ball hitting the net with a loud thud that makes them cringe. Iwaizumi also cringes when you tell them that they're bad – but since you are the captain, you'll help them get better. They all watch wide-eyed as you get a new ball, and jump, and serve, and the ball hits the other side of the court just before the white line. It feels so good, their gaze on you. It makes you forget you were the same, these eyes shining 'awe', and that is sometimes hurt a little when you land – you are careful to support your weight on the left leg now. They stop staring because you make them spike, and the smallest one is literally devouring your every move with his big blue eyes. His spike is almost good, he lacks accuracy but this is nothing a bit of practicing won't change. You make them toss, too, because you're the setter and you want to see what they are worth. The little one is last, tense to the point he almost trembles as he waits for the ball to come his way and – oh . Iwaizumi is talking, maybe congratulating him, but you can't hear a thing over the rush of blood in your ears whispering 'defeat' and the shattering sound of your pride thrown to the ground. Of course he's not perfect, your brain rationalizes, of course he'll have to work harder and harder and harder – well, you will have to, because he is going to be better than you in no time if you don't set a schedule soon. You already regret signing up for this Monday class, that's less time to practice. When you tell the first-years the schedule, you're almost tempted to leave Mondays out too, because the less he practices, the smaller a threat he can be. But he watches you with such admiration in his too large eyes it makes your ego swell and croon and maybe he's not that bad after all.

It's your second practice match this year and you've been beaten so hard Iwaizumi cursed aloud on the court and you went to hide in a bathroom after the other team members went away. Your frustrated insults have lowered down to soft cries now and tears have been streaming down your face for the last half an hour, dropping on the tiles with soft 'plocs' that seem both condemning and reassuring, alternating between 'you failed' and 'it's ok'. There are footsteps getting closer, probably Iwaizumi checking why you are not practicing. Just fort this once, you feel so thoroughly downhearted that you might even skip the night run to your house. No, actually you can't, you just can't. It is not because your ego was trampled upon that you are allowed to wallow in self pity like first year all over again. You will get up, practice harder, and beat Shiratorizawa – but next time, not now. The bathroom door opens and you regret not wiping your face. It's not Iwa-chan. "Oikawa-san, I'm sorry !" Kageyama blurts out, and stays there silently, obviously as devastated as you are – even more since he just stumbled on his captain crying on the bathroom floor. If your pride was smashed before, its remnants are now outraged and it takes all of your willpower not to start yelling again. "Go home, Tobio", you say, and he is so startled by the use of his first name that he nods and scampers along with his volleyball in his hands. He did not play today, just watched from the bench with naive wonder, yet he still has this awe-filled gaze, the same he gave you before you lost. Even this time, it manages to soften your bitterness, and maybe tonight's practice isn't completely lost after all.

oo

This time you're so enraged even two hours straight of jump serves can't erase the burning reality of defeat – the ball falling to the ground in a loud 'you lose'. Iwaizumi has been watching from his corner, raising his head from time to time to say that you will end up limping again if you don't calm down a little. But you have been benched – it stings, it hurts, each ball you spike looks like this stupid little Tobio-chan whose tosses you can't even blame on his genius since he practices almost as hard as you do. You don't care at all about limping and it's the worst feeling ever. Suddenly he is there, or maybe he has been for a while but you did not see him, little Tobio and his volleyball safely tucked between his hands, you know what he's about to say - "Teach me how to jump serve, Oikawa-san", it follows you even into your dreams. Right now though it's annoying, more than that, it feeds the beast inside of you that sits on its well-earned throne and feels threatened by large blue eyes.

You watch, with mild surprise, a bit of horror too, as your fist curls inches away from Tobio's face, Iwaizumi's hand on yours. It's the first time he looks at you without awe or even a slight blush, his already pale face drained of blood and twisted with fear for a second. And then it's gone, Tobio even apologises later on – you shut him up and apologise because you've been doing wrong. At home, when everyone's asleep, when you're all alone in your room, you grab a mirror and take a look at your face. Of course you look good, you know this, and girls remind you all the time. But you usually don't have a frown so deep it is painful to keep on, but it just won't go away. You almost hit a child, poor little Tobio-chan who would have willingly gotten the punch if it could make the anger and frustration leave your body – Iwaizumi's words echo in your head, "This boy's got a crush on you the size of the gym, and all you've been doing is trash him around ! It's a wonder he still willingly talks to you." Tobio's got a crush on your volleyball skills, your head tells you, and your pride scoffs. "Teach me how to jump-serve, Oikawa-san." Of all the times your self esteem is right it has to be about a pining little boy, but it swells and bathes in this realisation. Just your luck, having your future rival crushing over you. You hope that's all there will ever be to it.

oo

He gives you his handkerchief and you realise he's watching you cry again. It is the most he ever had from you, when you got the puppy eyes, the wide smile and the awestruck, innocent gaze – 'love', it spells, even now that you have snot all over your face. It is not fair. You think you will miss those, next year. And you do, you miss those eyes following you wherever you went like you were the centre of their world, and the "Oikawa-san, Oikawa-san" soothing your temper – you still dream about those sometimes, and about your fingers so close to his face for all the wrong reasons. Maybe you regret a little, and your ego mourns and remembers.


	7. Shadow Hovering

Day 7 was Tulip : White – one-sided love, Yellow – hopeless love. I had very fun ideas, as you can see. However, I wrote this OS as, well, a one-shot, and decided to stop without realiing it was more of an Overly Short than anything. Welp. I hope you like it.

* * *

At first the head is just another head, spiky brown hair lost in the crowd Tobio slowly circles above. The humans walk, they talk, they move in an endless stream of warm bodies, but this one in particular attracts Tobio, flying far far above them, so he spirals down until he is hovering above a small boy, with a bright, so bright, so fake smile. The boy is just pretending to be happy, covering the despair in his eyes with layers and layers of anger and yelling at the other human next to him – Tobio remembers he has just watched them play this game with a ball, and that when they stopped, after what seemed like an eternity of intense energy, on and on and more and more, he looked very sad.

The crowd has stopped moving too, now, all the boys standing in lines, and the one Tobio follows walks to the front when his name is called – _Oikawa Tooru_ , Tobio repeats it, again and again, his words floating around unheard. Oikawa Tooru gets a necklace with his name on it and the words 'Best Setter' – what does this mean ? Tobio thinks it must mean a lot, or not very much, Oikawa Tooru seems to be both upset and proud of this. His face seems to crack, at last, if his eyes are shining so much now, it is because they are filled with tears, and he has snot all over his nose. Tobio floats down in front of him, wishing he could wipe his face, but his wings only flutter near Oikawa Tooru, so close, so close, unnoticed. Then they lock eyes and Tobio understands, sees it all – the deep cold frustration, the rage, theoverwhelming need to prove himself, to be more - more, more even more, Tobio understands. Oikawa Tooru is so beautiful, clenching his jaw, tears streaming down his face, nose full of snot, that Tobio can't help getting closer, foreheads almost touching. The momentum breaks when they overlap, Tobio's eyes going wide in surprise as Oikawa Tooru walks through him without any disturbance in the air. For a moment Tobio had believed that he could be _seen,_ be more than a spirit floating around on dark wings, alone and observing humans - that someone was like him, that they would understand him like he understood themand tell him it was ok. There is no such a link, however, as Oikawa Tooru keeps on walking, talking with his friend, and even though he knows he will regret this – Tobio follows them, follows Oikawa Tooru home, sits on the foot of his bed and watches him sleep.


	8. Flying Kings

*Several months later* *hides in shame* So... This is day 8 of the OS I wrote last year and. I took one look atthis one before posting it and went "Bleh, no" and then forgot about it. It's probably a case of "my writing has improved and now I want to detroy everything I ever wrote". Nonetheless, I hope you like it !

* * *

Everybody knew Oikawa Tooru, his name and his looks, the circus he was part of, and above all, how he jumped. Oikawa Tooru was the best acrobat in the whole country.

"One day I'll be like him."

"Like the Grand Kind ? But, Kageyama..."

"Oh. Yeah. I'll be even better."

Hinata went back to stretching with a nod. Tobio joined him, after a few more seconds staring at the tiny poster under the bigger, "Aobajousai" one. "Karasuno Circus – The Flying Crows". He would jump as high as he could, and Hinata would be there to catch him on the trapeze, and they would perform again and again until every single jump of his made them reach the top.

oo

"Karasuno Circus, eh ? I heard they have good trapezes this year."

"Iwa-chan, could you please stop going to watch every circus we pass ? You know we're better anyway."

"Assikawa, do you even realise how hard it is to keep your title until you decide to retire ?! If you become crap even being the "Grand Kind" won't bring any money to feed the troupe."

"Fine, fine, tell me more about this trapeze."

"Not 'trapeze'. They're two, like us. Maybe even copycats. Ever since you got famous, lots of acrobats have been turning to trapeze... and some might very well overthrow you."

"Iwa-chan, that's not enough to scare me and you know it ! They work in a pair ?"

"Yes, or so people say."

"Only two's not enough to beat us, though. We're a team of six."

"We're still a pair, Oikawa..."

"But us two only would be like crap ! Imagine, a show of two acrobats !"

Hajime merely grunted, going outside of their caravan to check if the others were building the rows of seats correctly. Karasuno probably had no tent, and would perform in the open, using trees and strange wood structures like most cheap shows did. Still, they had been getting quite a good amount of attention lately, it would not hurt to go and see.

oo

The clamour of the crowd reminded him of the beating of a giant heart. Erratic, deep, loud beats echoing his own when Tobio stepped under the tent. Everything was dark, but Tobio knew the way like the back of his hand, Hinata's hitched breathing matching his own. This was what they lived for.

"Welcome ! Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the Karasuno Circus !"

Sawamura had started talking and soon...

"Let the show begin !"

Silence, now, deeper than the previous background noise, and then voices humming the hypnotic, familiar rhythm. Tobio did not need light to guide him, Hinata's footsteps were a lifeline for him to follow.

 _Inhale_.

Hinata started running as Yamaguchi lit his cape, orange heatless fire on black fabric, casting shadows all over his face like a scowling mask.

 _Exhale_.

He ran, ran to the end of the path and -

 _jumped_

\- an explosion in his heart and ears, as the crowd's cheers drowned his brain. Hinata was smiling at him, had caught his hands, as he always did, no matter how fast Tobio ran. Soon the other team members had joined them, swirling figures around his cape of light.

The loudest sound was the beating of his heart.

oo

" Why did you hold me back ?"

"There was _no way_ I was going to let you go down on the circus ring and _ruin their performance_ !"

"I wasn't going to interrupt, Iwa-chan ! I only wanted to get _closer."_

"And disturb them ?"

Tooru did not answer at first, furiously biting his lips, exhaling loudly as he threw his hands in the air.

"This one – the one with the cape. He was a King, Iwa-chan, a little King with no crown–"

"Come on, he's nowhere near your skill."

Tooru's head, voice, whole body, _dropped_.

"He's way better than me." The dark expression was wiped by the cheerful smile Tooru was known for. With a new flourish of his hands, as fake as the first, he added "I can't wait to see what he becomes !"

oo

He had seen Oikawa-san while he was up with Hinata, and after the show, he had followed him outside – because who would not, Oikawa was the Grand King of trapeze and he had come to watch Tobio jump. He hadn't left yet, standing with his partner over the entrance of the circus, too close not to be overheard.

 _"He's way better than me."_

Tobio was not. He really, really was not. Oikawa-san was a spirit, an angel flying high, and _everybody knew_ he was flying.

"Crows are not elegant," he told Hinata this night. "Let's practice more."

Hinata had found him outside, several hours later, shaking with cold and rage and joy. He merely huffed, and gave Tobio his bowl of soup.

* * *

"Karasuno ! They're here ! I heard they got a new show - it's going to be amazing !"

The large black and orange banner hung in the trees for the summer festival of Miyagi had the rumours spreading like wildfire.

"Tooru, they're..."

"I know, Iwa-chan, people can't seem to stop talking."

Three years. The boy must be a prodigy now. Tooru would not be surprised to learn he had grown wings – his reputation sure had, laurel crown on the King's head. Tooru was torn between jealousy and desire. See, watch, examine, possess.

"C'mon Iwa-chan, if we don't hurry we won't have good tickets !"

The show still started in complete darkness, voices chanting a melody of fire and air. The boy was not running, he was standing alone in the middle of the ring – he had grown too, grown so much, more graceful and lean and strong. So much better.

He leaped.

He was flying, wide wings of the same heatless fire, aerial choreography of light with his partner. The Shadow King and his Orange Crow. It was the most beautiful thing Tooru had ever seen.

oo

"You were fantastic !"

Hinata was raising his hands high for Tobio to clap on, but he didn't make the move.

"You're disturbed because he was watching again, right ? The Grand King."

"...Yeah. Fourth row, much closer than last time."

"Bakayama... You really don't wanna talk to him ?"

"Talk to who ?"

They hadn't seen him creep closer to their caravan. Hinata smiled and left, waving goodbye and hopping away to "find Natsu, who knows where she's been going while we were away".

"So, 'Bakayama', who is it you need to talk to ?"

Oikawa was not waiting for an answer, Tobio hoped, because he could have stood there in a daze all day.

"You've made a lot of progress since last time I saw you. They're not calling you the new 'King' without reasons."

"I hate this nickname", Tobio muttered. "It's stupid and you're the king already, what's the point."

Oikawa laughed, and ruffled a hand through Tobio's hair – he felt like crows were joyfully tearing his stomach into pieces.

"It's renown, 'King' means renown !"

"But... then, aren't all the members of the troupe Kings as well ?"

"Your team is good, but you are... You're special. That's why you're King."

Maybe this part he could get – no one could do what he did with Hinata, the jumps and the speed and the accuracy.

"You don't... you provoke a different kind of answer."

This part puzzled Tobio more, and it must have shown on his face.

"Aah, don't worry your pretty head over it, small King, you'll understand soon enough."

"You're only two years older, no need to sound so patronising."

"Oh, really ? I don't even have to feel guilty, then. Until our next encounter, King !"

He leaned down to press his lips on Tobio's forehead and left, humming slightly. Maybe Tobio did not fully understand, but the crows in his stomach were dancing in frantic ecstasy.

* * *

Thank you so much for reading ! Only one OS to go, hopefully this time I'll. Update.


	9. Bonus round

Hello ! Last part of this OS compilation ! (caesiellus I really apologise I should have posted this like two weeks ago but ugh, life).

When the week ended I still has all these flower meanings I wanted to write but that didn't turn out to be a long OS type of idea so I just wrote tiny fics and put them all in a bonus chapter ("secret symbol of the followers of Oscar Wilde" oh my God). Thank you all so much for reading, leaving reviews and favourites, it really made me super happy ! I hope you enjoy !

* * *

 **Lily** , s _carlet_ _–_ high-souled aspirations

"Oikawa-san, teach me how to jump serve !"

Tobio, I'd teach you how to stop crushing on me but you look so cute when you raise those wide, blue eyes that I want to see it again. So I say "no", and even though I do hate geniuses, that's not the point here. The point is that if I say "no", you'll come back every half an hour until the end of the volleyball practice.

oo

Also, you're doing very well on your own. I've been watching you and you're doing so great already it would be spoiling it a little to tell you all about serving when you can learn it the hard way – and in front of me.

You've been training even harder these days, and every time you serve you stop, look at me, and your eyes shine – "Did I do well, Oikawa-san ?" – and still I say "no", because it's funnier this way. It keeps you on your toes.

You keep training, though, you keep serving again and again and watching me intently – it was unsettling at first but now I feel more complete with your gaze on me.

On day you make it. Your serve is perfect and for a moment you're floating above the ground, your eyes so wide I could drown in them. You turn to me with the largest grin, you just know you have done it right but you want my approval. You're giving me too much power, Tobio-chan. It's your fault if I say "no" again, just to watch you face down, eyes squinted, and then up, so determined. It makes my stomach curl and I want to feel this again. I want to feel your ambition again.

ooooooooooooooooooo

 **Carnation** , _green –_ secret symbol of the followers of Oscar Wilde

Tooru has always liked reading, his grades are good and he is not repelled by school work. But this – this is too much. "Oscar Wilde's Followers Secret Society", the banner reads, and it's probably his imagination but there are little green flowers doodled all around it.

"Oikawa-san ?"

No way. No freaking way. Under the banner now stands a small group of students, all clutching heavy piles of worn out books, and in the middle…

"Tobio-chan ?"

He blushes at the nickname but Tooru couldn't care less. Tobio, that has his little cute face all scrunched up in class because he doesn't understand something. Or rather, everything. Tobio, holding a book pile so heavy Tooru doesn't know if his frail arms are going to hold them still, and while the little crowd quickly scatters and hurries back hoe, Tobio still stands there, not moving, gaping a little.

"I didn't know you enjoyed reading."

"Is it because I don't have good grades ?"

"Mostly. But you don't stick out to me as the reading type."

"Hinata always says that and yet it's the secretary of this club. He can't even sit down properly."

Tooru doesn't care, at all, but Tobio has never talked so freely to him so he'll do whatever is needed to keep this going. Even sitting at a café with him and his books spilled everywhere – under the two tea mugs, on his lap, in his hands, while he points out quote after quote of books he seems to know by heart. He has eyes that light up and open so wide when he looked pleased, two oceans of blue that seem to sparkle under a warm sun, and for this Tooru can listen to whatever literary banter Tobio is up to.

ooooooooooooooooooo

 ** **Rose**** **,** _b_ _ _lu__ _ _e__ _–_ mystery, attaining the impossible

How Oikawa does this is a mystery. He is just another student in a blue uniform. Yet his hands seem to fly, his whole body in a bird-like tension while – oh. The ball hits his palm perfectly, a fusion he does not believe is possible, and it draws the perfect curve over the net.

Tobio quietly wonders if he will ever be able to do the same, so he trains and trains and trains until he can serve very well, without ever reaching this perfect balance.

oo

Hinata spikes and the world opens up in various shades of blue. He has jumped higher than any human possibly can, his arms – his wings – outstretched in a vast cloudless sky while he send the ball flat on the other side of the court. Tobio thinks this is what he has always been dreaming of, and when Hinata spikes his too-fast toss again it feels like he finally made it to the top and watches, too, the world from this beautiful blue sky.

He just feels sad he is alone to witness it.

ooooooooooooooooooo

 ** **Rose**** **,** _y_ _ _el__ _ _low –__ jealousy, apology, intense emotion

How come it never occurred to him that maybe, he could mind ? And it was silly to add this "maybe", considering that he did mind, but that was something he would not admit. Tobio had just served – and not an ordinary serve, _his_ jump serve, and he minded very much. He minded that Tobio had learned without even having been taught, only from watching. He minded that it still was a very nice serve.

oo

He hated that Tobio got to serve while he was benched. Sour, bitter, it tasted in his mouth like betrayal, like a puppy that would bite you while you had your back turned. He tried to tell Iwaizumi – it was not hate, or violence, just a bit of jealousy. It was Tobio getting closer, looking up at him with his big bright eyes, and asking him again "Teach me how to jump serve" after walking out of this match when _he_ should have.

Iwaizumi just shot him a glance, released his wrist and left. Trying to justify himself was pointless if he knew he was wrong – it just would not flow out of his mouth like his nonsense usually did. Intense emotion could not excuse his action.

oo

He hardly managed to get out of the gym to apologise, but when Tobio turned to him, and without flinching, sent him a shy smile, the words bubbled out of his mouth as if there were no stopping them. Tobio seemed surprised – as if he thought Tooru would never apologise, or worse, did not need to. Tobio looked a bit weirded out, but apologised too, and went back home saying "See you at practice tomorrow !"

Maybe he was more jealous of this peace Tobio seemed to feel when he played, and the calm himself couldn't keep while being watched with eyes like these.


End file.
